Open-air stadium

Refreshed seats

Workers remove seats as they begin the renovation of the Maracana Stadium ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 24, 2010.
(Felipe Dana / AP)
ShareBack to slideshow navigation

Hot temperatures

Locals and tourists enjoy Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro, on July 25, 2012. An unusual 32° C (89.6° F) winter temperature is hitting the city which, according to experts, is due to a warm Amazon mass that prevents the cold front from the south from arriving.
(Vanderlei Almeida / AFP - Getty Images)
ShareBack to slideshow navigation

Riding the waves

A body surfer rides a wave during high tide in Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro on May 22, 2012.
(Christophe Simon / AFP - Getty Images)
ShareBack to slideshow navigation

Sky high

A cable car travels to and from Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, on Aug. 18, 2008. The cable car leads to one of Rio's most visited sites, with 800,000 tourists per year.
(Bruno Domingos / Reuters)
ShareBack to slideshow navigation

Urban dwellings

Urban forest

A man walks with his bicycle through the Tijuca Forest in Rio de Janeiro, on July 29, 2012. The National Park of Tijuca is the world's biggest urban forest at 33 square kilometers (12.7 square miles).
(Pilar Olivares / Reuters)
ShareBack to slideshow navigation

Walking on the beach

Future Olympic site

Aerial picture taken at the "City of Rock" -- which is to be the site of the future Olympic Village when Rio hosts the 2016 Olympic Games -- on the opening day of the music festival Rock in Rio, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sept. 23, 2011.
(Vanderlei Almeida / AFP - Getty Images)
ShareBack to slideshow navigation

Across the water

General view of the Bridge of Knowledge designed by Alexandre Chan at the entrance to the 2016 Olympic city in Rio de Janeiro on March 20, 2012.
(Christophe Simon / AFP - Getty Images)
ShareBack to slideshow navigation

Ipanema in the distance

Birds overfly the Cagarras Islands, five km away from Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 6, 2010. Several species of marine birds in risk of extinction inhabit the islands making them one of the most interesting spots for tourism in Rio de Janeiro.
(Vanderlei Almeida / AFP - Getty Images)
ShareBack to slideshow navigation

Life-size art

A passerby looks at a life-size body sculpture by British artist Antony Gormley, part of the Event Horizon installation, in Candelaria square in Rio de Janeiro's downtown, on August 8, 2012. Gormley's exhibition in the city includes works from Amazonian Field, Critical Mass, Event Horizon and Breathing Room among others.
(Antonio Scorza / AFP - Getty Images)
ShareBack to slideshow navigation

An artistic tribute

Artist Jorge Selaron poses while sitting on the staircase he created, the Escadaria Selarón, located between Lapa and Santa Teresa neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro, on July 27, 2010. Selaron began his project, which is a work in progress, in 1990 with some 2,000 tiles collected from over 60 countries. The Chilean-born artist calls the project a tribute to the Brazilian people.
(Clarissa Cavalheiro / Reuters)
ShareBack to slideshow navigation

New transport

Cable cars are seen in front of the Penha church after Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff opened the new transportation system in Rio de Janeiro on July 7, 2011. The cable car system in the Alemao slum is part of the effort to crack down on crime and modernize infrastructure as the city prepares to host 2014 World Cup soccer matches and the 2016 Olympic Games.
(Sergio Moraes / Reuters)
ShareBack to slideshow navigation

Favela on a mountainside

A "pacified" favela, or squatter settlement, is seen on a forested mountainside in the mist on June 21, 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio de Janeiro's authorities have successfully "pacified" a number of formerly crime-ridden favelas in the city although the expansion of favelas due to a housing shortage has contributed to Rio's rainforest destruction. Many are constructed in the mountains and hillsides that surround the city, resulting in deforestation.
(Mario Tama / Getty Images)
ShareBack to slideshow navigation

Surfing

Teenagers walk to ride waves at Arpoador Beach on the final day of the Rio + 20 conference on June 22, 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
(Mario Tama / Getty Images)
ShareBack to slideshow navigation

Park with a nice view

Majestic sunrise

Two Urubus fly at sunrise over the "Lagoa" lake of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June 29, 2012.
(Christophe Simon / AFP - Getty Images)
ShareBack to slideshow navigation

Traditional dance

People dance the Jongo, an Afro-Brazilian dance where the samba derives some of its roots from, in Rio de Janeiro, on July 28, 2012. The Jongo ritual is a legacy of African slaves who worked in Brazil's coffee plantations in the 19th century and is celebrated as a tradition mostly in slums and former slaves communities.
(Ricardo Moraes / Reuters)
ShareBack to slideshow navigation

Famous aqueduct

Festive celebrations

A dancer of Mangueira samba school parades during carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Feb. 21, 2012.
(Felipe Dana / AP)
ShareBack to slideshow navigation

A Rio sunrise

Sugarloaf Mountain is silhouetted against the early-morning skies as the sun begins to rise in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the host city for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012. The Earth summit included high-profile talks among some 130 top leaders from nations around the globe.
(Felipe Dana / AP)
ShareBack to slideshow navigation

Editor's note:
This image contains graphic content that some viewers may find disturbing.